Extraordinary absorption of sound in porous lamella-crystals

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 4; no. 1; p. 4674
• Main Authors: Christensen, J., Romero-García, V., Picó, R., Cebrecos, A., de Abajo, F. J. García, Mortensen, N. A., Willatzen, M., Sánchez-Morcillo, V. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 14-04-2014; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 639/301/1005/190; 639/766/189; Absorption; Acoustics; Approximation; Crystals; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Porous materials; Radiation; Science; Sound; Sound waves
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/srep04674

We present the design of a structured material supporting complete absorption of sound with a broadband response and functional for any direction of incident radiation. The structure which is fabricated out of porous lamellas is arranged into a low-density crystal and backed by a reflecting support. Experimental measurements show that strong all-angle sound absorption with almost zero reflectance takes place for a frequency range exceeding two octaves. We demonstrate that lowering the crystal filling fraction increases the wave interaction time and is responsible for the enhancement of intrinsic material dissipation, making the system more absorptive with less material.